Bison briefs

Hockey and volleyball

The men’s hockey team took on the Calgary Dinos at home. Entering the matchup, the Dinos were sitting in second place in the Canada West, three spots ahead of the Bisons.

Manitoba played an excellent game defensively in a 4-1 victory Friday night. Manitoba kept the Dinos to 20 shots and limited threatening scoring chances. Deven Dubyk stood tall in net yet again, and the Bisons received contributions on the score sheet from Reid Gow, Aaron Lewadniuk, Justin Augert, and Jesse Paradis.

Coach Mike Sirant noted that his team had a strong team defensive game and played smart positionally.

When asked about how much time his team has to celebrate a big 4-1 win against Calgary, Sirant was quick to answer, “30 minutes. Very little time to enjoy this, it’s back to business to prepare for tomorrow.”

The Bisons were unable to carry the momentum from Friday night into Saturday’s game, losing 3-0 to the Dinos, despite managing 25 shots on net.

The Bisons will now head to UBC to take on the Thunderbirds on Nov. 22 and 23.

Women’s hockey

The women’s hockey team wasn’t able to find success on the road against the Dinos this weekend, losing Friday and Saturday night’s matchups 3-2 and 3-1, respectively. Charity Price notched her second and third goals of the season on Friday night. The Bisons were in tough against a Calgary squad that has one of Canada’s top female players internationally, Hayley Wickenheiser.

Wickenheiser had two assists on Friday night and a goal and assist on Saturday night. Standout first-year Alanna Sharman scored the lone goal on Saturday against the Dinos.

Men’s volleyball

The men’s volleyball team was in tough against a strong Brandon squad on the road this weekend. Brandon beat the Bisons Friday night in three straight sets (22-25, 13-25, 22-25). Devren Dear and Kenny Rooney led the Bison offence on Friday with 11 and nine kills, respectively. Libero Alex Strachan picked up 11 digs in the effort. The Bisons came out with a stronger effort on Saturday night in a tight five-set loss (26-28, 25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 8-15).

Luke Herr picked up a staggering 54 assists in Saturday nights effort, and Dear led the offence with 19 kills. Adam DeJonckheere had 16 kills, Rooney picked up 11 kills, and Strachan led the defensive effort with 17 digs.

Women’s volleyball

Continuing their tough first half stretch, the Bisons, looking to get above .500 before Christmas, split the weekend against the Bobcats. Manitoba got off to a hot start on Friday night, beating the Bobcats in three straight sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-19).

Rachel Cockrell continues to light up her opponents, picking up 26 kills on the night. Brittany Habing had 41 assists, and the defence was led by Caleigh Dobie and first-year Kalena Schulz, with 17 and 15 digs, respectively.

Captains Cockrell and Habing are still topping the leader boards in the Canada West. Cockrell leads the conference with the most kills, while Habing has the second most assists. Also of note are Dobie, with the fourth best digs per set, and Schulz, with the third highest service aces per set.

Both volleyball teams return home this weekend, taking on Thompson Rivers on Nov. 21 and 22.